Celebrity chef Ed Halmagyi breaks his silence on uncertain future after he was forced to shutter bakery following Bondi terror attacks

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Ed Halmagyi, known for his work on Better Homes and Gardens, has spoken publicly for the first time about the sad closing of his Sydney bakery after the recent terror attack at Bondi Beach.

The well-known Australian chef, age 50, has sadly revealed he doesn’t know what his future holds. This comes after he had to shut down his bakery, Avner’s, due to years of facing antisemitic harassment.

He admitted he’d been stuck and unmotivated for a while. Though he’s unsure what the future holds, he recently decided he needed to start moving forward again, as he explained to The Daily Telegraph.

The surprising news follows Halmagyi’s recent closure of Avner’s restaurant due to the Bondi attack. He’s now shared that he may need to find a job again after being self-employed for many years.

He explained he wants to prioritize maintaining his strong connections within the Jewish community, and doesn’t want to lose the momentum he’s built with them.

Being involved with Avner was incredibly meaningful for me – it gave me a platform to support and advocate for the Jewish community here in Australia. While that chapter is closing, I’m excited to discover new opportunities to continue making a difference and standing with Jewish Australians. I’m really looking forward to seeing what those possibilities hold.

I enjoy cooking and having guests, so I’m thinking about getting a job. I’ve always been self-employed, so I’m not familiar with working for someone else.

Just days after the terror attack in Bondi on December 14th, Halmagyi announced the difficult decision to close his Jewish bakery, Avner’s, in Sydney earlier this month.

Australian celebrity chef ‘Fast Ed’ announced the closure of his store after enduring years of antisemitic harassment.

A sad message on the store’s window announced the bakery would be closing its doors, just after opening earlier this year.

Following the attack in Bondi, it’s become apparent that openly Jewish spaces and gatherings in Australia can no longer be guaranteed safe.

After enduring nearly two years of constant antisemitic harassment, vandalism, and intimidation, we’ve had to acknowledge the ongoing threats to our bakery.

These worries are now much more urgent and significant. Even after the terrorist attack, threats haven’t stopped.

Because we’re open to the public around the clock, we can’t guarantee the safety of our employees, customers, or their families.

We’ve made the incredibly difficult decision to close Avner’s. It’s a heartbreaking moment for us all.

We’re incredibly thankful for the community we’ve built and all the support we’ve received.

This follows Halmagyi’s acknowledgment that he regretted underestimating the danger faced by the Jewish community, calling his initial assessment ‘naive’.

His Surry Hills bakery has received written abuse, verbal abuse and vandalism weekly since opening.

For the past two years, we’ve been dealing with constant problems like graffiti, vandalism, and even hate mail, along with broken windows. It’s been happening five or six days a week,” he explained to Chris Taylor on ABC Sydney radio.

The popular baker recently sold a thousand doughnuts for the Festival of Lights, but before the celebration, he had to confront the difficulties of being a visibly Jewish business owner.

He shared that the first thing he did was remove hateful stickers from the building, which included messages like “Jews kill babies” and “go back to where you came from.”

Following a mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration in Bondi Beach on Sunday, fifteen innocent people – including a 10-year-old girl – lost their lives, and forty more were injured. This was Australia’s second deadliest mass shooting on record.

Authorities have identified Naveed Akram, age 24, and his father, Sajid Akram, age 50, as suspects in the killings. Sajid Akram was killed at the scene.

Today, twelve people injured in the attack are still in critical condition. An additional 26 patients are receiving treatment at seven hospitals throughout Sydney, with varying degrees of injury.

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2025-12-31 03:52